As part of the Tercentenary celebrations, Guildford Freemasons entertained over 70 elderly and underprivileged local people to high tea, with the assistance of Age UK Surrey, Contact the Elderly and the local Lions and Rotary Clubs

Held at the Guildford Masonic Centre on 20th August, entertainment was provided by the Surrey Fringe Barbershop Singers and magician George Kimber, whilst the event was also attended by the Guildford Deputy Mayor and Mayoress Cllr Mike and Mrs Jean Parsons.

A cheque presentation was held at the charity’s Redhill base, followed by a presentation from Director of Operations, Leigh Curtis, about how their continuing support has made such a difference.

The life-saving charity operates throughout the South East covering an area of 3,500 square miles and a population of 4.5million people. So far this year, their crews have been called to more than 600 missions, helping the most critically ill and injured people in the region.

During 2017, Freemasons around the country will be presenting 20 regional air ambulance charities with grants totalling £180,000.

Lynne Harris, Director of Income Generation for the charity, said: 'We are so grateful to Surrey Freemasons for their continuing generosity. Without support like this, we simply would not be able to continue our life-saving work.'

David Olliver, Provincial Grand Charity Steward of Surrey Freemasons, said: 'We are so pleased to continue supporting the great work of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance. Supporting the work they carry out in our communities every day is something to be proud of.'

The auction was held after a day’s golf and dining, organised by W Bro David Eager, and included a very poignant item – a framed Charlton Athletic FC football shirt which had been brought along by David’s son, Cliff Eager, who is a Safety Officer at Charlton.

Cliff Eager outlined that this shirt was a one-off design worn by all the players for a league match following the sad death of PC Palmer, who was on duty when the terror attack took place at the Houses of Parliament in March.

PC Palmer had been a Charlton Athletic season ticket holder for a number of years and this was one of the club’s tributes to him. The player who had worn this shirt had signed it and it also bore Keith’s Police Warrant Number.

The Surrey Masonic Sports Association had agreed to match the auction figure raised which was a £500 bid by Julian Whiteaker, after which Kevin and Beverley Field then donated a further £250 – making the final total raised £1,500 for PC Palmer’s widow and young daughter.

A Surrey Freemason will be donning his hiking boots and preparing to take part in the Nijmegen March this July

Spread over four days from 18th – 21st July 2017, W Bro Nigel Feltham will be taking part in the 101st International Four Day March in Nijmegen, Holland, for the fourth time.

During the four days, Nigel Feltham will be walking approximately 100 miles, alongside a total of 47,000 starters of this popular event. He will be joined by his friends Andrew Bignold and Cornish Freemason Michael Wierenga, who is also a member of Stoneleigh Coronation Chapter in Surrey and will be completing the walk for the ninth time.

Nigel Feltham commented: ‘The party and carnival atmosphere in the village every night is incredible, hundreds if not thousands of walkers sharing their experiences of the day. The last day is the best, with bands playing and people cheering; it’s a very emotional experience with a medal waiting for you at the finish line.’

Each of the team – most of whom have no scuba experience – will have to dive to the bottom of a 3.2 metre tank to sit on specially fixed bikes and pedal one mile each.

The event has been organised by the Lodge's Assistant Charity Steward Bro Mark Tuvey, with the assistance of the London School of Diving in Chiswick, where the event will take place on September 3rd 2017.

The money raised by this initiative will contribute to the overall £3.25 million target set by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey, of which just over half has already been raised.

With fundraising for Surrey’s 2019 Festival in full swing, W Bro Steve Guzy of Ember Manor Lodge No. 4740 decided to look for a different way to raise money for the Festival appeal

The answer was a sponsored walk of 163km between the 11 major Masonic Centres in Surrey – to be completed in eight days.

On paper that might have seemed enough of a challenge, yet Steve is 62 and his co-walker, W Bro Roy Baker is 65! What hadn’t been foreseen was that the date for the walk would coincide with the hottest weather so far this year.

With challenging temperatures and difficult terrain facing them every day, the brethren strode through Surrey, discovering parts they didn’t know existed, with panache and plenty of water.

Having successfully completed their walk, the intrepid duo helped to raise over £1,000 for the Surrey Festival.

Canterbury Cathedral hosted a Tercentenary Thanksgiving service in recognition of its long-standing relationship with Freemasonry

More than 1,500 masons and their families came from across the Provinces of East Kent, West Kent, Surrey and Sussex to attend a service in celebration of 300 years of the United Grand Lodge of England.

The event was held on 18 February in the presence of the Grand Master HRH The Duke of Kent, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Kent and the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, and was led by the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, the Very Reverend Dr Robert Willis.

During his sermon, Dr Willis thanked the Duke of Kent for his long-standing support of the cathedral. He recalled how the Royal Family helped when the cathedral was damaged by bombing during World War II. He also paid tribute to the generous support of the masonic community, whose relationship with the cathedral dates back more than 100 years.

Canterbury Cathedral is currently undergoing the largest restoration project in its history. The interior and exterior are covered in scaffolding to allow the ancient building to be restored to as close to its original condition as possible. A donation of £300,000 from the Freemasons of Kent, Surrey and Sussex has funded repairs to the North West Transept, including new tower pinnacles and a spiral stone staircase.

East Kent Provincial Grand Master Geoffrey Dearing said: ‘The existence of Freemasonry for over 300 years bears witness to the fact that the idea of men from all walks of life coming together to make society a better place is one that has stood the test of time and inspired successive generations.’

A group of Surrey residents who find it challenging to communicate because of their profound and multiple learning disabilities are being helped thanks to a £15,000 grant from the Masonic Charitable Foundation

The grant to the Us in a Bus charity will be used to help fund two interaction practitioners. They will be supporting 86 people, mainly in the Reigate and Banstead areas, the majority of whom do not use words to express themselves and find it very difficult to communicate and connect with the world around them.

Victoria Goody, chief executive of Us in a Bus, said: ‘I was delighted to welcome Bill Caughie [pictured] and his fellow Surrey Freemasons so they could see the impact that our work has on people’s lives and the huge importance of their donation.’

For the first time, it is believed, the Grand Organists in the Craft and the Royal Arch are both current members of, and were initiated into, St Cecilia Lodge, No. 6190, the lodge for organists

Carl Jackson is Grand Organist for UGLE and Provincial Grand Organist in Surrey, while David Cresswell is Grand Organist for Supreme Grand Chapter. Carl is also director of music at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, and organist and teacher of academic music at King’s College School, London.

David is director of music at St Nicholas parish church, Chiswick, and a court assistant for the Worshipful Company of Musicians.